LeBron James returns for his record 21st All-Star Game, still in the NBA's midseason spotlight at 41

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — For two solid decades, LeBron James was a main attraction at every NBA All-Star weekend.

He was a 20-year-old starter in his All-Star debut back in 2005, and he became the youngest MVP of the game one year later. Never begging off due to injury or exhaustion while his less-accomplished teammates luxuriated in their breaks from the regular-season grind, James dutifully appeared in every midseason showcase until 2025, when his 40-year-old body simply wouldn't allow him to play.

As it turns out, that weekend in San Francisco wasn't the end of an era after all.

Now 41, James will be back this weekend for the All-Star Game at Intuit Dome south of central Los Angeles, spending another Sunday in February under the spotlight while extending his records for the most All-Star selections (22) and All-Star appearances (21) in NBA history.

James, the leading scorer in NBA history and in the All-Star Game's history, clearly doesn't consider the All-Star Game to be an onerous obligation, even when he's had to fly all around the country to make his appearances. Yet the Los Angeles Lakers star is also thrilled he'll be spending this All-Star weekend in his own home, where he can concentrate his spare hours on making the most of the time he has left, both in this season and in his matchless career.

“Trying to figure out how to get some rest,” James said Thursday night when asked about his plans for the weekend. “Obviously, Sunday will be Sunday. Super grateful for that, to be a part of All-Star weekend and to be a part of the big game. And then (I'll) try to find some rest.”

James went into the break with a performance that exemplified why his latest All-Star selection wasn't obeisance to a basketball legend — even one who has missed 18 games due to injury already this season, disqualifying him from consideration for a 22nd straight All-NBA selection.

During the Lakers' 124-104 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night, James became the oldest player to get a triple-double. He had 28 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds for the 123rd triple-double of his career and one of his best performances of the season with the Lakers (33-21).

“He’s fighting Father Time as good as anybody ever has,” Lakers teammate Austin Reaves said. "Just the pace he’s playing with still, the athleticism, obviously the IQ. Yeah, he is still one of the best players in the NBA. (He's an) All-Star for a reason.”

Lakers coach JJ Redick put it even more succinctly: “He’s got a 23-year prime, basically.”

And as James reiterated after his triple-double, he still firmly believes he could maintain something close to this level of play indefinitely.

His defiance of time and aging has reached unprecedented levels as the only NBA player to suit up for a 23rd season, and he is excelling at a level never reached by a player in his 40s. James has repeatedly said he doesn't know how much longer he'll play — but he doesn't even qualify it by saying he wants to leave before his skills erode, because he doesn't think they will.

“Could I? Yeah, I could. But I don’t know,” James said when asked if he could continue to play at a high level for years to come.

“It’s not (about) my game,” he added. “My game is not going anywhere. It’s just my body. It’s all the other things. There’s so many more factors that come with how long will I play the game. I don’t think my game will ever suffer if I decide to continue to go along, however long that is. I just think it has to be here (pointing at his head). How long can I stay in love with the process? Because that’s always been my thing. If I can’t continue to stay in love with the process, if this goes, then my body is going to go. And once my body goes, then it’s a wrap. And all the fun goes, and all the love and stuff goes. That’s what it is. It’s not like my game is deteriorating.”

In his first All-Star Game, James suited up for the Eastern Conference alongside fellow starters Shaquille O'Neal and Allen Iverson to face Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan.

When he plays in his 21st All-Star Game at the Los Angeles Clippers' futuristic arena, he'll be playing against many young stars who have never really known the NBA without James in it.

But the generation gap seems meaningless lately, at least when James is healthy. After winning four championships and accomplishing almost everything possible in basketball, James is still playing at an All-Star level because he gets satisfaction from the process — and gleeful joy from its results.

“That’s always me,” James said. “I’m a goofy, 41-year-old kid. I mean, I think people should know that by now, right? That’s just me. I’m just goofy. I get to play basketball. Like, they pay me to play basketball. Why wouldn’t I be happy about that? I get to be with my son and my teammates and all these unbelievable fans. They’ve watched me throughout my career and given me all the support and love, and it’s like, I enjoy my … is it even work? I enjoy what I do.”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James smiles after scoing during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Brooklyn Nets Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James warms up before the team's NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) pauses after tossing power before an NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James gestures after he scored during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV lifted a wooden cross and held it aloft from his waist at the start of the 14 stations of the Way of the Cross at the Colosseum on his first Good Friday as pontiff, marking the first time in decades that a pope has set out to carry the cross to every station.

“I think it will be an important sign because of what the pope represents, a spiritual leader in the world today, and for this voice, that everyone wants to hear, that says Christ still suffers,” Leo told reporters this week outside of the papal retreat at Castel Gandolfo. “I carry all of this suffering in my prayer.”

Inside the Colosseum, Leo began the procession flanked by two young people holding torches, and followed by clergy.

At the first station, marking the moment Jesus was condemned to death, the meditation prepared especially for Leo's first Good Friday underlined that those with authority will have to answer to God for how they exercise their power.

"The power to judge; the power to start or end a war; the power to instill violence or peace; the power to fuel the desire for revenge, or for reconciliation,'' read the meditation written by Rev. Francesco Patton, who was custodian of the Holy Land 2016-25, charged, among other things, with looking after sacred sites.

Thousands gathered outside the pagan monument, where the procession continued, following the stations as they were recited over loud speakers.

They included Sister Pelenatita Kieoma Finau from Samoa and a member of the Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary.

"We have been part of our parish stations of the cross, but this is so exciting. It is very meaningful to have the experience of being with the people of Rome on this special occasion,'' she said.

John Paul II carried the cross for the entire procession from his first Good Friday as pontiff in 1979 until his hip surgery in 1995, when he carried it just part of the way, according to AP reports at the time.

For the first two years of his papacy, Benedict XVI carried the cross for the first station inside the Colosseum, then followed other bearers in the procession that ends on a platform on the Palatine Hill.

Pope Francis never carried the cross, but participated in the procession until his health worsened. He died after a long illness last year on Easter Monday, which fell on April 21.

Pope John Paul II was just 58 when he became pope, and was known as a hiker and outdoorsman. His two successors were in their late 70s when they began their papacies, and Francis was missing part of a lung due to a pulmonary infection as a young man.

The Way of the Cross commemorates the final hours of Jesus’ life, from his death sentence to taking up the cross to his crucifixion, death and burial. The procession ends outside the Colosseum atop the Palatine Hill.

“The Way of the Cross is not intended for those who lead a pristinely pious or abstractly recollected life,” Patton wrote in his introduction. “Instead, it is the exercise of one who knows that faith, hope and charity must be incarnated in the real world.”

At 70, Leo is physically fit and an avid tennis player and swimmer. Before becoming pope, Leo would work out regularly at a gym near the Vatican, with a plan befitting a man in his early 50s, according to his former trainer.

On Holy Saturday, the pontiff will preside over a late night Easter vigil, during which he will baptize new Catholics, and lead Roman Catholics into Christianity’s most joyous celebration marking Christ’s resurrection.

On Easter Sunday, the pope will celebrate an open-air Mass in St. Peter’s Square before delivering his Easter message and offer the traditional “Urbi et Orbi” blessing to the city of Rome and the world.

——

Barry reported from Milan.

Pope Leo XIV carries a lightweight, 1.5-meter (5-foot) wooden cross during the Via Crucis, the torchlit Good Friday Stations of the Cross procession at the Colosseum in Rome, Friday, April 3, 2026, which symbolically retraces Jesus Christ's steps to his crucifixion on Calvary in Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Faithful attend the Via Crucis, the torchlit Good Friday Stations of the Cross procession led by Pope Leo XIV at the Colosseum in Rome, Friday, April 3, 2026, which symbolically retraces Jesus Christ's steps to his crucifixion on Calvary in Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Leo XIV carries a lightweight, 1.5-meter (5-foot) wooden cross during the Via Crucis, the torchlit Good Friday Stations of the Cross procession at the Colosseum in Rome, Friday, April 3, 2026, which symbolically retraces Jesus Christ's steps to his crucifixion on Calvary in Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Leo XIV carries a lightweight, 1.5-meter (5-foot) wooden cross during the Via Crucis, the torchlit Good Friday Stations of the Cross procession at the Colosseum in Rome, Friday, April 3, 2026, which symbolically retraces Jesus Christ's steps to his crucifixion on Calvary in Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Leo XIV carries a lightweight, 1.5-meter (5-foot) wooden cross during the Via Crucis, the torchlit Good Friday Stations of the Cross procession at the Colosseum in Rome, Friday, April 3, 2026, which symbolically retraces Jesus Christ's steps to his crucifixion on Calvary in Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope Leo XIV attends the Celebration of the Passion of the Lord in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on Catholic Good Friday, Friday, April 3, 2026 (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope Leo XIV attends the Celebration of the Passion of the Lord in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on Catholic Good Friday, Friday, April 3, 2026 (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)